Death's Favored
by Kovia
Summary: Death is cryptic, L is making plans, and poor Harry is forever fate's favorite fool.
1. Chapter 1

L Lawliet stood above his body watching Light Yagami pull a mask of remorse over his triumphant features. It still had not settled onto Light's face when the pull started. There was no resistance, like gravity had reasserted itself on his spectral form. The second of standing above Light holding his now dead body was comparatively ages to the amount of time it took for his spirit to launch in the direction the shinigami had disappeared to. The world went white.

* * *

Harry Potter stood slowly from the bench when Dumbledore finally disappeared from his view. He was thankful that the decision to return or move on was his, but it seemed to be a bit of a non-choice all the same. If he stayed dead, the people of the magical world may just let Voldemort take over. His closest friends would fight and other friends might, but most everyone else was content to lay all responsibilities on his shoulders. Without him, they would think, the prophecy was fulfilled in Voldemort's favor, so why fight against the darkness?

"You've chosen then?" a genderless voice sounded from over his shoulder.

He jumped away from the new being that had appeared. It had no form, was seemingly made from a complete lack, the whiteness of its shape somehow standing out from the whiteness of the imagined King's Cross Station.

"I have to go back. I need to finish Voldemort for good?" Harry started confidently, but trailed into a question as a large smile ripped across what would be the being's face creepily.

"How wonderful. I had worried about this happening, but it seems my fears were unfounded." The being circled Harry, seeming to size him up.

"Wait, what? Who are y-" the wizard found himself cut off.

"Yes, I think everything shall work out well, Harry Potter. I have need of your assistance. Please hold on to this for me, for now. Get well acquainted and I will be back in touch. Please be ready before November 2004." A shiver raced down his spine as the mouth moved around those words and it took him a bit to process them.

"But, what?" Harry had been in many confusing situations before, but he had never been as bewildered as he was in this being's presence. He found himself staring, slack jawed, at the space that returned to the whiteness of his surroundings. Whatever it was, it was gone now and his surroundings were becoming hazy. The wizard hoped that things became more clear when he returned to his body. Hermione would probably be able to help at least.

He was jarred from his thoughts as a force slammed into him from behind.

'Ugh, what a way to return,' he thought while trying not to so much as twitch a muscle. Harry cracked his eye. He jolted as he realized it was still white and twisted around to see what the weight that had settled on his back was. When the dead weight began to shift, Harry quickly reacted to stop their movement. He found himself with his arms full of a skinny, unfamiliar, dark-haired man. The wizard blushed, the man was in the same state he had arrived in himself, namely: naked.

He was in the process untangling their legs, his arms still wrapped securely around the other when the man's eyes opened. Their eyes met for just a second, charcoal and emerald. The ground fell out from under them.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. This is my first time trying to write a longer story (no estimate yet) so I hope you'll bear with me as I try to work things out. I won't be including a solid pairing for Harry or L (I'm still working on normal interactions so I don't want to ruin a romance), but I will be leaving things a bit open. I'm going for the bro-lmates type relationship Sherlock Holmes and John Watson have.


	2. Chapter 2

The falling quickly evened out to a floating feeling of weightlessness. Harry began to loosen his grip, but stopped when he remembered that the other person was nude.

"Hi," he said instead.

The man's charcoal gaze snapped back to the wizard's face, he stared unblinking for a long moment before he responded with a simple "Hello."

"Um, your clothes. Or, well, you don't have any clothes," Harry stumbled over the fact, unnerved by the wide eyes glued to his face. He felt like the almost mirror surfaces could see into his mind without the use of legilimency.

"Indeed." With the clipped reply, Harry's attempt at conversation died out. It had not been a very good attempt, but what else was he supposed to say when an unconscious, naked person knocks into him and wakes up in his arms? It was beyond awkward for him, even if the other seemed indifferent. Maybe he woke up wrapped around strangers clothes-less often?

"It's getting darker," the unexpected monotone startled him, but he immediately saw that the statement was true. The hazy white was changing to a misty grey and beginning to swirl around them closing in like a fog.

"I think I'll be waking up soon," Harry mumbled his thoughts as his eyes moved back to the stare that he still felt boring into him. How had this guy even noticed the change when he seemed so focused on reading into the depths of Harry's soul? Harry returned the focus and saw a very subtle expression of curiosity. He was surprised at reading it, thinking that he was probably just projecting his own feelings upon hearing a statement like that to the man.

The fog was almost black now and nearly encompassing them so instead of elaborating on his previous statement, he simply said, "I'm Harry."

"I am," there was a considering pause before it looked like the other came to the conclusion he had been searching for, "L."

Harry felt that there was an unknown weight behind the name even if it seemed to be some kind of brush-off. He was unsure if he had gained the man's, L's, approval or not. He did not get the time to think on it as the black finally engulfed them. The weight in his arms disappeared and the smell of forest surrounded him.

Bellatrix was worrying over Voldemort, who had apparently collapsed when he 'killed' Harry, and he couldn't help but feel a bit of smug satisfaction. He worried himself though when someone was sent over to check that the curse worked. It was fortunate that Narcissa was more concerned about reaching her son than being a loyal Death Eater. Harry wondered if she actually was a marked follower as he let his body sway lifelessly with Hagrid's movements. Voldemort really was too overconfident of his side's loyalty. After what he had seen of Voldemort's treatment of the Malfoy family he found no surprise at Narcissa's quick betrayal. She probably thought that two failed attempts at killing an unarmed target assured the dark's loss and was trying to get into the light's, or at least Harry's, good graces. He had probably cemented that thought when Voldemort's Cruciatus Curse pulled no signs of life after her announcement.

Harry moved his line of thinking to what was to come next. He still needed to take out Nagini to make the Dark Lord completely mortal, but that task would be a lot easier now that she was out of her protective bubble-

'You think really loudly,' L's voice filled his head and Harry almost stiffened as his mind began a chaotic whirl.

"Hold onto this," the white being had said. Hold what? A person in his head?! Harry had spent most of his life unknowingly sharing his head with Voldemort and now he was about to end that once and for all, and he is stuck with this?

* * *

Oh wow, thank you all for all of the story favorites and follows. I'd love to hear what you think and any suggestions for writing improvements you may have. I'm amazed that I've already had any response to my story. Sorry if it's a bit choppy, I'm trying to figure out how to turn the movie playing in my head into something that makes sense for reading. It's really difficult for me as I have a lot of trouble putting it into words, but having feedback from everyone really makes me want to try my hardest. Thank you again for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

L found himself at a loss. It had been years since he had gone into a situation completely blind. Even going with Whammy had been almost fully calculated before he agreed. He quickly assessed as much as he could, which was quite a lot. His thoughts operated at a speed that was far beyond the mental capacity of an average person. His primary focus was picking apart the boy embracing him. The surroundings were a hazy white that he was able to unconsciously monitor easily. He set his gaze off to the side of the boy's head, most people felt disconcerted when faced with his eye contact.

The boy, no, young man, probably around Light's age, was proving difficult to figure out. His face was open, but his expression seemed shadowed somehow. Not in the way Light was shadowed, of superiority and diabolical scheming that L associated with Kira, but in a world weary way that hinted of overcome hardships.

The arms around him began to loosen though they stilled almost immediately. The young man looked uncomfortable and L knew he had just realized that the detective was bare. L had noticed that fact before he had opened his eyes and discarded it as unimportant. There were no others around to gawk, his body was average without necessarily being attractive, and what almost non-existent modesty he may have was being guarded by the person currently wrapped around him. Said person seemed to be working out what to say.

"Hi," the man said almost carefully.

L almost snorted when the other finally spoke. He worked to suppress the urge with less than his normal ease, meeting emerald eyes again. When he was satisfied that he would speak in his usual manner he finally responded with,"Hello."

The detective saw flickers of emotion pass that may have gone unnoticed by even the person wearing them. At his response the other's face began to relax, but discomfort moved back in before the features could fully slacken. He calculated an amusing remark on his state of dress at 43%, awkwardly speaking of their surroundings at 28%, questions about L himself at 9%, and the other 20% was too diverse to go into details. Unfortunately, the probability of learning about their current situation was less than 1%.

"Um, your clothes. Or, well, you don't have any clothes," It was easier for L to keep his amusement in check as his profile began to fall together. He could see that there was something out of the ordinary when it came to the person that was holding him close. A pang of frustration went through him at being unable to deduce exactly what caused that shadowy discrepancy. He was too young to be a military veteran though it was the closest resemblance. Abuse possibly contributed, but the scale needed to be full attribution would have resulted in a broken shell.

"Indeed," he said dryly, trying to provoke a reaction and was only rewarded a momentary flash of annoyance. Annoyance was not much and when it cleared L knew that he had ended any further conversation attempts at least momentarily from his suspect. He had been working with criminals too much lately. Not suspect, just a curiosity. The young man had fallen into a novel position of arousing L's interest without a crime. He idly examined his emotions in relation to the matter. It usually took very little effort to shield them. L had perfected the mask to the point that even those closest to him sometimes forgot he was human. Though that wasn't to say that he experienced emotions to the same degree as others. He still found himself almost driven to unravel the mystery he had fallen on.

Emerald eyes widened just a fraction. What thoughts were floating through that head? The surroundings dimmed. Was that a reaction to the change? Less than 1% chance, but, "It's getting darker." L would never say it aloud, but it was a small peace offering for derailing the youth's pitiful conversation attempt as well as a psyche probe. Mostly the latter, but offering the words without any prompting would make him seem more approachable.

Genuinely startled at the information, but the only thing that seemed to discomfort him about the situation as a whole was exposure to nudity. L himself was still not bothered by his undress, but was unused to the physical contact. Perhaps that was putting him out of sorts, being out of his customary thinking position only accounted for 40% loss to his deductive processing, physical contact could be stifling his emotional control.

"I think I'll be waking up soon," the young man muttered absently, almost unaware of L being in hearing range despite their closeness. His eyes came back to L's blandly before focusing on the detective's face. He thought he was dreaming? It would explain a lack of normal response to the initial encounter. Maybe he thought he was having a sexual identity crisis. Though entertaining, it didn't fit, but L was unable to figure out what he could be missing. Usually his curiosity focused on criminal suspects, only a 3% chance of that in this case. Of course, he was naturally 1% suspicious of everyone in general. The extra, he would admit only to himself, was a bit of a spiteful addition for being even partially unreadable. Also for making his thought process redundant without any additions for having them pass again.

"I'm Harry," he did not think he was dreaming. He could possibly be experiencing the same spirit state L was in. Possible exposure to a Death Note then. So previous supernatural experience desensitized him?

"I am," he paused. Giving his real name would be best here he decided. It went against his ingrained instincts, but would be best to gauge a reaction with. There was a chance that he had been pulled across dimensions. He was unable to calculate it and had no basis for the thought, but his gut feelings tended to be accurate. "L."

Harry showed no knowledge of 'The Detective L,' only confusion of being offered a letter as a name. He continued to look like he was puzzling out L's name until they were fully engulfed by the shadows that had been steadily darkening as they neared.

* * *

Geez, writing L makes me feel really stupid. Thank you all for reading, I'd love some feedback/suggestions if you have time to review.


	4. Chapter 4

L found himself in the control room of his mind palace. The computer screens were all lit and awaiting password input. He had naturally set passwords and protections even in his mind. It was inaccessible, but he found it was a good habit to maintain. He set up in front of the monitors and imagined some snacks to occupy his hands. It was unfortunate that he would not benefit from them as he did with real sugar. The login process had just finished when a flicker of movement on the side of the room caught the detective's eye. A door and window had appeared. The window was flashing through many scenes at a dizzying speed so L drew the curtains. The sounds of the scenes was muted, but a narrating voice accompanying them was only muffled.

That voice belonged to Harry, he thought. He startled at a wave of panic that shook the panes of glass and hoped that the youth's mind was not always so chaotic as he returned to his computers. His usual monitors only linked to the files he had stored away hidden from sight, but now he added another wall of equipment with the purpose of hacking into the mind he glimpsed through the window. Harry's voice droned on about some Malfoy family now. Had L really wanted to hear people's thoughts before this? His connection idea needed to work. The way things looked said that he would finally be able to access the mind of someone that had interested him. He would be able to do his first complete profiling of a person. His deductions were right most of the time, but to actually be able to see someone else's logic and reasoning in action would be very insightful. If only that voice could be blocked out.

The new wall's screens came online though the central remained blank. It was the optic input so being blank only meant that Harry had his eyes closed. Seven surrounding monitors showed different scenes, one L recognized as it had flashed by the window. The curtain was very distinct after all, floating almost freely under a large stone archway. He watched as a mad looking woman sent a light at a laughing man in slow motion. He thought of his labeling system and the video-like memory stilled. Tags popped up next to people and objects that Harry recognized as relevant to the scene. 'Bellatrix Lestrange' he read next to the deranged woman and the man, frozen in the act of falling into the curtain ('The Veil'), was 'Sirius Black - Godfather.' What really interested him though was the tags on the woman's stick and lights. The stick was a 'Wand - Allegiance transferred to Hermione' and the light appeared to be unverified as it was 'Spell - Stunning? Disarming? Dark Magic?'

That helped to explain quite a bit about Harry. Magic. L felt that he should be more surprised and disbelieving at this information. He would never have guessed that humans could wield a power like that. It did support the feeling he had that he was transported into a different universe. It was a small possibility that he had somehow subconsciously gained some knowledge from the trip through the portal that ripped him away from his body. It was also possible that him somehow ending up with a sort of outpost in a wizard's mind caused him to be more accepting of what Harry's mind already acknowledged or his experience with the Shinigami had left him ready for anything.

Harry was now loudly making plans to kill a snake. One of the monitors was divided showing a large, green serpent 'Nagini - Last remaining Horcrux' draped over the shoulders of a man with a snake-like face, 'Voldemort - Tom Marvolo Riddle, Dark Lord' along with a list of six already destroyed Horcruxes.

When Harry's plan turned into what L would phrase as "Snake is _only_ protected by a dark lord, I'll just charge in like an idiot. Everything will be fine," he decided to derail the thought. He noticed his microphone appear on the desk and spared a brief wish that things were as easy out of his mind. Well, maybe they could be with magic, but it didn't seem to be doing these people as many favors as he would imagine.

L pressed the button, "You think really loudly." He heard his voice sound outside the window and the flood of chaos that followed shook more than just the window panes. All of the monitors vibrated whether they were attached to the wall or standing on the desks and some of the treats he had neglected in his rummage through the wizard's memories crashed to the floor. He could make out none of the babble that was now filtering into his space, it had blended together to resemble the wail of an emergency siren. His attention was drawn to a monitor showing a featureless white being, 'Death?' and he watched the whole interaction.

~"Yes, I think everything shall work out well, Harry Potter. I have need of your assistance. Please hold on to this for me, for now. Get well acquainted and I will be back in touch. Please be ready before November 2004."~

He wondered if the being was actually Death as Harry thought or if he was some other form of Shinigami. It did have more power than Rem had seemed to be able to command. L remembered that she had killed him and Whammy. She had given vague denials and stated ignorance to his questions that would further implicate Light and Misa as either Kira. In killing him as he was in the process of proving the thirteen day rule false, she had shown to be on Kira's side. It was difficult to keep his death in mind being that his mind was currently residing in, or was it possessing he would have to look into body control, a wizard. He did not dwell on it, instead focusing on the way it was inferring that he would be returning. Possibly back into his own body even.

A smile stretched across his face slightly distorting his features with the unfamiliar motion.

* * *

Thank you all for reading! If you haven't seen it yet, I've posted a prequel (Death's Favored: Cloaked) explaining a bit about Death and the Hallows in this universe. It's not necessary reading for this story though.

It will be explained a bit more (maybe next chapter), but for those wondering, Harry and L are from different realities. Harry's has magic, L's has Shinigami and the time difference will be explained. So L as a detective does not exist in Harry's world and any alternate versions of themselves or people they know will not be playing any major part in the story. (With the current outline at least)

Please leave a review, let me know I'm doing okay. You'll really make my day and without a beta I might have missed something. Pretty please?


	5. Chapter 5

Harry thought they were almost out of the forest. There was more and more light flashing across his face from breaks in the leaves. He resolved to worry about the voice in his head after the battle finished. He gave no reaction to the centaurs as L had drawn his attention. His hope of ignoring the extra presence within him was not a possibility with said presence being L Lawliet. Not that Harry knew exactly who he was dealing with, yet.

"I think we should discuss your plan to have no plan," L said with quiet annoyance as he reset his snacks with a thought. He began picking through them as usual and sipped his tea. He wanted to be back in control of his own body, but having everything appear exactly as he preferred was something he would enjoy.

"I do too have a plan," Harry thought to his passenger. "Ron and Hermione will focus on the snake and I've told Neville to try to kill it as well." He squinted a bit to see Voldemort walking ahead with Nagini draped across his shoulders. "Between all of us, someone will be able to take her out. As I thought, she's not protected by that bubble any more."

L wished that he was visible to Harry if only to be able to fix him with a pointed stare. It had worked to have Matsuda rethink or, at least, question his actions. Maybe a good stare down could make Harry see that he was being senseless.

"She is still under the eye of your Dark Lord. It is unlikely that he will be so negligent as to let his last tether to immortality be completely vulnerable." L hoped that he was not attached to an unreasonable person for, he checked the date, over six years. He wondered what would happen if Harry were to die. There was no guarantee that he would move into another person's conscious. Harry needed to stay alive. It was just too bad that L did not know his capabilities within Harry's mind to ensure that state of being.

Harry was uncomfortable that his mind seemed to be completely open to this unknown person. He knew nothing of the other or his intentions. It would be just his luck to have another psychotic murderer trying to influence his thoughts or take possession of his body.

"Well, what would you do?," Harry asked. "Um, also how much of my thoughts are you hearing? How are you hearing what I'm saying to you?"

"I would not be in this situation," came the reply. "Your thoughts are sounding around me so I can hear what you are thinking with volume depending on the thought's intensity. I have set up something of an intercom to play any thoughts directed to me. The others I am mostly able to tune out."

L placed a truffle into his mouth with delicate fingers and continued around the rich chocolate. "I am not a murderer," he heard one of the thoughts passing and added, "or a mental patient."

The group of Death Eaters was called to halt as they reached the castle.

"You'll excuse me if I don't take you at your word on that." Harry groused as he was set in the grass. "Also, Voldemort is overconfident. He thinks the prophecy meant my death would equal his eternal rule. Even now, as he's lying about what happened in the forest and thinks me dead, he fears touching me."

"I see," L said as he read the profile Harry had of Voldemort. He assumed that Harry's mind influenced what he was reading, but surprisingly little of the information seemed to be emotional speculation. It was possible that his mind was the influencing factor. He had a system to sort his own information and linked it with sources or other items of relevance. Harry's knowledge probably formatted itself to L's usual specifications. He learned more about the situation from the other screens as well. L assessed their odds of success as chaos ensued and fighting began in earnest.

He ignored the smug "I told you so" when Neville decapitated the snake. Any distraction could prove deadly so he stayed quiet as Harry made his way to the Great Hall to confront Voldemort.

"Do not call attention to your ownership of that wand," he hurried to tell Harry as the wizard spoke to Voldemort. "Others could hear and you are not surrounded by people you can trust," he continued before Harry could ask.

Harry conceded that others should know as little of the Elder Wand as possible. "So what-" Harry let the rest of the question remain unasked and hoped L would already have some plan of what he could say. He stalled and called for Riddle to show remorse.

L looked over the Elder Wand's profile again, "Dumbledore and Snape set up his death. Tell him the power of the wand broke with that agreement and it is now a wand like any other. Maybe even less powerful as it can recognise no new owner."

Harry did that, "As Ollivander said, _the wand chooses the wizard._ Part of that wand died with Dumbledore. Its own nature works against it. If it doesn't pass through greed and defeat, it can never choose a new master. You can feel it resisting, can't you? It works for you as any other wand would, the same as when you took Lucius Malfoy's. A wand that has no allegiance to its holder will never be as powerful as a matched wand."

Voldemort's face tightened. *"But what does it matter?" he said softly. "Even if you are right, Potter, it makes no difference to you and me. You no longer have the phoenix wand: We duel on skill alone* both with ill matched wands."

Harry's hand twitched, the only sign of reaction to Voldemort's assumption. He kept a smile away and sent a 'thank you' to L. It was a fortunate misunderstanding they had created. Voldemort would expect any spells from Harry to be weak. If he had switched wands, the duel would not favor Harry.

The sun shone in, an unspoken signal, bathing them in red-gold light. Their yells echoed through the hall as spells raced to meet between them.

Disarming spell met killing curse with a resounding boom. Voldemort fell to his own spell, reflected in the blast that shook dust from the walls and rafters. Harry caught the Elder Wand that had sailed at him with what would be determination in an animate object.

* * *

*Quoted from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*

As usual, thank you all for reading, the favorites/follows, and the reviews. I really appreciate everyone's support. Sorry if I missed any mistakes this chapter. I'm still writing without a beta and wasn't able to write over the weekend so I rushed a bit. I've been trying to finish on Sunday nights so I can check over it and post on Monday.


	6. Chapter 6

"You have the Devil's luck." L voiced as Harry was swamped with friends and other well-wishers. He watched the encounter a few extra times to analyze everything down to the smallest detail.

Harry gave a sad smile as he looked around the Great Hall, "I wish I could have shared some of it. There are too many people missing from this group. Too many injured and dead."

"It was their decision to fight and nothing you could have done that you hadn't done already," L replied. "If anything went different, the most probable outcome would be more death. Even the smallest change could have unforeseen consequences."

Harry's already forced smile tightened. "Yeah, but I still wish-," his thought was cut off by L.

"Wishing, regrets, and guilt will change nothing. Be grateful for what you have left. Work to fix the problems that started your war so that it cannot happen again if you feel you must do something. Feeling bad about things does nothing and you shouldn't halt your own life because others lost theirs." L usually would have said nothing as he had no problems with this sort of thing himself. He found himself grateful for his social ineptitude. A person with no strong emotional attachments was best able to move past losses. (Even within his own thoughts L would deny the hole left by Whammy's death. His murder would only be real when he returned to his world.) Harry had turned his difficult childhood into some sort of Atlas Syndrome, taking the world onto his shoulders and topped that with feeling accountable for all of its failings.

"You don't have to sound so condescending," Harry's thought was an annoyed grumble, "but you're right. I know I have to move forward. Just give me some time to process. My year has been a constant stress, I haven't had many decent meals recently, my sleep has been terrible when I've been able to sleep at all. Even with Voldemort dead there's still so much to be done."

L kept quiet as Harry continued to be shuffled around. Instead of continuing a conversation, he brought up files of information to understand news from the crowd and simultaneously browsed Harry's memories. He had coincidentally just passed the memory of meeting Luna Lovegood when Harry was finally able to sit down, exhausted next to her.

*"I'd want some peace and quiet, if it were me," she said.* "Of course, that wrackspurt infestation you have might not help."

"It's not wrackspurts, Luna." Harry wondered if she was being her usual self, or actually able to sense L's presence.

"Yes, it does seem quite different somehow. I'll have to talk to father, this may be something new. You have a natural pull for interesting things." Her grey eyes bored into his as she spoke and Harry scowled. He turned his face down so others would not see his annoyance.

"I'd give about anything to have a nice boring life. I've not asked for any of the interesting things that have happened to me. Ever." He looked up through his bangs. Luna smiled at him.

"Not ever, Harry?" Harry's lips twitched at her question. She did have a point and her smile was contagious.

A grin stretched across his face and he brought his head back up. "Why, Luna, I'd never! You wound me. I'm all about the dull monotony. Day by day, always the same," he pulled a face. "Okay so some interesting I may have asked for, but maybe now I can get a little less of the intense kind of interesting." They both laughed at the statement.

"I'd say it's not likely," L voiced and Harry audibly groaned. Luna gave the wizard a knowing look and created a distraction so he could slip from the hall unnoticed. He decided that as much as he wanted to call out to Ron and Hermione and have their company, he first needed to have an uninterrupted conversation with the voice in his head.

Harry made his way through the lower floors of the castle searching for a room with a decent place to sit. He could transfigure something comfortable, but a base that was nearer to the desired result would be less strain. The first room he checked had him blushing and backing out in a hasty retreat.

L held back an amused gibe. He was worried that being stuck with Harry would ruin his ability to emotionally distance himself from everyone. Whammy was the closest he had come to complete trust in a person, but that was a mentor or parental relationship. A friendship was new ground. His friendship with Light would only count if Light had proved he was not Kira, now an impossibility. Knowing Harry as he did, he could see that they would work well together. The desire to tease the modest young man was new and unexpected.

There was a slight problem with L being Harry's friend so soon. While L had a complete overview of Harry's life highlights, Harry knew nothing of L. L was the type of person that was disliked for his quirks and bluntness. Luna was accepted with her mix of dottiness contributing to her tolerability. L had nothing to soften those traits. Though Harry had gone out of his way to help or save people he disliked, his friends had his unwavering loyalty. L wanted to fall into the latter category.

Harry found a dusty room with a tattered yet plush chair nearly hidden beside a large, unused teacher's desk. He transfigured the chair into a squashy recliner with the hawthorn wand and sank into it. In the reclined position he was hidden from view, but he cast locking and silencing spells on the door to be safe. Any other couples looking for somewhere to celebrate the defeat of Voldemort should pass this room by as occupied.

"Why didn't you use the Elder Wand?" L questioned when Harry was comfortable. He had blocked out as much of the wizard's thoughts as possible so he only heard them as an ambient murmuring like that of a babbling brook.

"That's a good place to start. How do you know so much about the wand? You said you can't hear my thoughts. I don't even know if I can trust you or that white thing. Since I don't have any basis for trust with you, it feels like I should be wary of everything you say. Instead I find myself taking your advice without even questioning it! Of course, downplaying the significance of the Elder Wand was something I would have done by myself had I thought of it." Harry sighed, "I just don't know how to feel. This is a new type of strange even for me."

"First off, I never said I couldn't read your thoughts. I'm just actively tuning them out. It's like the sounds of nature, everything blends together, but if I focus I can pick out different sounds. So if I tried hard enough I could have your thoughts run alongside my own. I wouldn't though, it would be like someone narrating Shakespeare over your shoulder while you were trying to test for History of Magic." L said as he set the microphone to stay open for the conversation.

"Okay, that's good to know, but doesn't explain how you know about that wand and now my classes," the wizard said seriously as he caught himself as he looked around as if to meet L's eyes. He gave a startled laugh when the situation dawned on him. "Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived-to-vanquish-he-who-must-not-be-named, locked in an unused classroom, talking to himself."

"But you're not talking to yourself technically," L pointed out, missing the sarcasm as he fiddled with assorted snacks and kebab sticks that surrounded a chocolate fountain. "I hope you don't plan to call yourself that, there are too many hyphens and it has terrible flow."

"What? No! Of course I'm not going to call myself something so ridiculous. The boy-who-lived is bad enough." Harry said with an exasperated flail of his hands. "And I'm not going to let you get around answering my question. How much do you know and how did you learn it?" He wished they could talk face to face.

"The Elder Wand-," L recited the knowledge he found linked with Voldemort's file as he finished spearing his first kebab, "Allegiance transferred from Albus Dumbledore to Draco Malfoy, then later to Harry Potter. United with the Cloak of Invisibility and the Resurrection Stone to form the Deathly Hallows." He double coated his creation (strawberries, marshmallows, and cheesecake cubes) in chocolate and continued, "Cloak of Invisibility- Passed down through Peverell family line (later the Potter family), now owned by Harry Potter. Resurrection Stone- Passed down through the Peverell family line (later the Gaunt family), now owned by Harry Potter. Currently left in Forbidden Forest."

"And how?" Harry prompted L to get to the point of the question.

"I can see their properties too, and all about Voldemort. His horcruxes included. It's like looking through files on the computer. I have a basic overview of the moments in your life that you find most significant." L stated matter-of-factly.

Harry was horrified. "I don't know much about computers, I only snuck onto Dudley's a few times, but what you're saying is that you're seeing my memories like some kind of interactive game?"

"No, not a game," L responded. "Some play clips like a film, but I can also see them as diagram pictures where each significant item has a description attached to it."

"That doesn't help! Get out of my memories. I don't even know who you are and you're in my head rifling about like my life is a movie." He closed the recliner, moved near the seat's edge, hunched over, and grabbed his head.

"I only started looking to catch up on the situation. After I had the information I was just getting 'well acquainted' with you. That being did say that we should." L said.

"It told me that. Not you." the wizard spoke out loud, his voice all but a growl.

"It could be partly directed to me, knowing that I would see the conversation." L tried to reason.

Harry's response was an actual growl as he sprang from his chair and set to pacing. "I swear, I think I would hit you if it was physically possible. Even if that was directed to both of us, it doesn't give you license to invade my privacy like that!" Harry thought of Occlumency with Snape, watching the memories and knowing that his most hated professor was seeing them as well. Now he had some unknown person seeing not just unconnected snippets, but full scenes with descriptive commentary.

As Harry was thinking of the lessons, they appeared on one of the monitors with more information than L had received in passing. He squashed the impulse to say that he hit back as he thought of his row with Light. "I apologise," he said instead as he took in the additional information. He took a bite of his newest chocolate covered kebab and continued, "I was merely trying to learn more of your world through your life, it was not with a specific intent to pry into private details. I did add a filter after the crying girl under the mistletoe. I don't believe it had to do much work based on your reaction to the couple in the first room."

Harry stalked back to his chair and collapsed back into its comfort. "Gee, thanks. I don't know if you're being insincere or if you're just that clueless. Are you really from another world? Is it very different than this one?" He heard an unusual sound within his head, "What was that? Are you eating?"

"I am eating, even if I'm not getting the benefit of the sugar, the routine of snacking helps me think. I am 77% certain that our worlds are separate. You had no reaction to the name I gave and I have seen no evidence of your brand of magic."

Harry snorted and cut in, "So you're famous or something? And you wouldn't have seen magic, we keep it hidden. If you had seen something, it was likely Obliviated from your memory."

"Or something. I doubt that memory modification would work on me. I immediately sort and label my memories with timestamps so I would notice irregularities in any manipulated memories." L argued back. "As a detective, my mind is my greatest asset. I cannot have people tampering with it unnoticed."

"Oh, you're a famous detective?" Harry asked idly.

"Oh," L mimicked, "are you as well?"

"Shut up, L. Are you four? I was just wondering if you would actually be able to know if someone had modified your memory. That would be really useful. Could you explain the process to me?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Sorry, I've shut up," L joked. "Honestly, I may have already started the process. To understand what was happening instead of being bombarded with unimportant information, I had your memories run through my own sorting. It won't be quite as effective as you were not actively keeping track of yourself as I do, but you may still find it easier to recall things. I can help you further when we have more time to work on setting up a mind palace."

"I think you may be the most aggravating person I've ever encountered," Harry said. He felt like he was dealing with a mix of Luna's bluntness, Malfoy's arrogance, and Snape's off-putting personality, possibly with Ron's ability to consume an army's worth of food and stay beanpole thin. "If that's a serious offer, I would appreciate the help."

"Yes, it is a serious offer. I am trying to be friendly, I have to say that I have no experience when it comes to friends though. The person that came closest to being my first friend orchestrated my death. I hope that you and I can be friends,"what the detective actually hoped was that Harry would be able to look past his social shortcomings, but would not tell the wizard that. "It helps that you aren't a mass-murder suspect."

Harry had no idea how to respond to that statement. L read the stunned silence as a cue to change the subject. "You never answered my question."

"Umm, what question?"

* * *

*Quoted from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*

Another chapter done. They wouldn't stop talking. I didn't even get to my planned stopping point because they went off on tangents and seemed to raise more questions than I could answer. I'm just trying to move the story along and figure out how to do dialog and they're here like "power through it, all you need is practice, rub some dirt in it."

Thank you for sticking with me. I'm going to try to read something good with the sole purpose of learning better ways to write, but PMs and reviews with suggestions/tips for improvement would be a big help. Let me know if you spot any mistakes.


	7. Chapter 7

"Why didn't you use the Elder Wand?" L restated the question for Harry. He knew it was not in Harry's profile to want power for power, but it already answered to him and was a memento of his mentor. The only problem he could see was the need to be discreet with it where others might see.

Harry considered the question. He decided there was no harm answering it as L already knew about most everything. He pulled the Elder Wand from the sleeve where he had hastily stashed it."I honestly didn't even think of using it. This wand has brought nothing but trouble to the world. I don't want or need it.

"I'm also worried about it changing allegiance were I to be disarmed. Defense is my best area for magic, but the situation has always been skewed in my favor. Plus there's the fact that the Elder Wand transferred to me from Draco Malfoy when I ripped those wands away from him." Harry ran a hand through his hair. "He may have let me take them in the end, he never said one way or the other to identify me. Though I suppose that he might have just been surprised after getting that face full of glass."

"You're worried that it will easily sway loyalties? Even if that is the case, you gained it without that stick being anywhere near you at the time. If you're still planning on going into law enforcement you will be faced with situations that could cause it to transfer. Not to mention the fact that Voldemort sympathizers and aspiring dark lords will be out for your head." As L spoke, Harry listened with the beginnings of nausea in the pit of his stomach.

The detective was probably right. He would be a target no matter what and becoming an Auror would only add to the risks he would be taking. Most law breakers would probably go out of their way to avoid him if he was not one of the people actively working to stop them. Could he really leave wrongdoers out there unchecked though? He had not been able to leave things in the hands of authority through his school years, but Voldemort had been gunning for him and the prophecy did not help. This would not be solving mysteries with his best friends, it would be a job where he would be told what to do and when to do it. Someone dictating how he helped people was not something he wanted. He said as much to L.

"Honestly, I don't think you are suited for that job either. The rules and restrictions would be suffocating after all you've been through. Also, were you to become an Auror, the ministry would be able to turn you into their show pony. You would become the face of the force even at the lowest levels and any failures would become your fault."

Harry blanched and thought his fourth year where Dumbledore could or did not protect him and Hermione from the Prophet's damaging articles. Then there was his fifth year where Dumbledore was removed from his positions of power outside of Hogwarts. Even with the Minister of Magic on his side, how long would it be before the people of the magical world turned on him again? He would probably start the cycle early if he declined to become an auror.

Having L in his head seemed to be complicating everything. Alone, he would never have spared a thought to these things. He would turn around from ending Voldemort's reign straight into chasing other dark wizards. Everyone would expect it of him too.

L waited patiently to continue. He accomplished his goal of getting Harry to think and he had no intention of ruining it by breaking the wizard's train of thought at the wrong time. Joining an official policing force would not only put Harry into high risk situations, but it would also limit his time with any cases he was assigned. He had an idea of how to get closer to Harry that he hoped might bring him into the younger man's trust as well. It would depend on a few things that he currently suspected proving to be true.

When L felt enough time had passed, he pulled up a test Harry had sat for the last year he went to normal school and picked a question at random. "Harry," he said in a quiet monotone. When he received a still somewhat distracted acknowledgement, he continued, "What was the answer to question 6 on your last mental maths test?"

"Why would I," Harry started wondering why this crazy person expected him to remember a test question from before he started Hogwarts. Then he realized that he did know the answer. "It was 460. How do I know that? There wasn't anything special about that question that would make it stand out to me."

"It seems I was right. My sorting did help you out. Having its file open on my end may have helped too. I am going to test something. One moment." L said as he found one of the easiest cases he had received and copied a still of the file from his mind into Harry's. This way, it contained only his original view of the case file with none of his speculations. Not that this murder had required any, he had figured out the killer before finishing his first read through.

"Now tell me," he leaned forward in anticipation as he spoke, "Who killed Tessa Sansward?"

Harry was unsure how to feel as thinking the name brought up a picture from a memory that was not his own. This had the potential to be a good thing or a very bad thing. "Um, you seem to have a lot of control there. How do I know you aren't going to be mucking up my memories or, I don't know, taking control of my body or something," He asked instead of going over the murder details.

L gave a small 'oh' in surprise. He should have thought of a way to assuage those fears before Harry had voiced them. He selected a few newspaper articles, each about a different alias, and copied them over in the same manner as the case. After a moment of thought, he added small bits of how he acquired the names stated in the articles. It would probably be difficult to process those without a mind palace, but if he kept it short Harry would probably be able to grasp the information.

The memories arrived just as Harry had started to call L out on the seemingly random newsprints. They brought a massive headache with them. He viewed them as quickly as possible hoping that his headache would disappear when he knew what they contained. When it did not, he briefly considered asking the detective to remove them before deciding to see if the pain faded over time first.

L started to ask if Harry was okay, he stopped himself when he realized that speaking might aggravate the headache. The silence indicated that Harry had grasped his head in pain, not disbelief.

After a few minutes the pain dulled to a manageable level. The memories seemed genuine to Harry. Hopefully sharing memories in this way would be affected by falsity in the same way that Slughorn's were or something like it.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks for asking," he threw sarcastically to L.

"I would apologise for the pain the memories seemed to cause. I hadn't wanted to worsen your headache with any sound," L responded without an actual apology included.

"I'm sorry," Harry said, feeling chastened. "It's just a bit of lingering ache now. You seem to bring out the Slytherin in me. Oh, the case. I'll take a look at it."

L had a theory that Harry lacked his usual self-censor as the thoughts addressed to him would come through immediately. With others, Harry could respond in thought, then adjust that thought to the individual. His cousin had often been on the receiving end of Harry's sarcasm even if the lump of a boy had understood none of it.

A couple minutes passed before Harry answered. "I think it was the sister. Her alibi times line up too perfectly with the murder and all of the places she listed have no surveillance? It could be a coincidence though."

L was slightly impressed. It was a respectable amount of time to get the correct answer. Others had quickly declared the boyfriend as the killer with only flimsy evidence. Harry had missed some clues that would have allowed him to answer with more certainty. It was workable though, he would have L to guide him and teach him what he lacked. Now he just needed to bring it up.

"That is correct. She also didn't realize-," the silencing spell on the door broke and a knock sounded through the room.

"Excuse me. These rooms need to be cleared out for damage assessment," a familiar voice followed the knock.

"Hermione?" Harry called towards the door.

L noticed that the wizard stowed the elder wand back up his sleeve and gripped the hawthorn wand in one fluid, near unconscious movement.

"Harry," she called back, "Oh, thank goodness. Luna said you went for some time alone, we just-"

Ron cut in, "We were worried, mate."

Harry could almost feel the disapproving look Hermione was surely directing at Ron through the door.

"We _wondered_ ," she stressed the word, "if you would mind some company. Can we come in?"

L resisted the urge to pout when Harry smiled and dispelled the locking spell on the door. He felt they had made some progress. This distraction may set him back though.

Ron and Hermione entered the room and recast the silence and lock spells before they sat together on the large desk by Harry. They were slightly surprised to see his grin and the amusement flashing in his eyes before he spoke. When Luna had told them very seriously that Harry had left the great hall to address his pest issue, they had feared that he was not coping well with the losses or even his role in Voldemort's fall.

Harry, feeling lighter in the presence of his best friends, took a small moment to enjoy their confusion before he asked, "So you went through Hogwarts, interrupting all of the celebrating couples in the hopes of finding me in a random classroom?"

Hermione's cheeks pinked and she huffed, "Well, we did check the Headmaster's office and Gryffindor Tower first."

"It was Hermione's idea to tell people they had to clear out," Ron said, matching Harry's grin.

The witch's blush darkened. "I couldn't just go through the castle yelling that Harry Potter, Vanquisher of the Dark Lord, had gone missing now, could I? They shouldn't have been doing _that_ here anyway," she defended.

They all shared a look before bursting out laughing. After a moment, Harry's eyes widened. "Hermione, please tell me they're not calling me that."

L sullenly prodded a slice of cake with his fork. He had just realized that even if he was able to befriend Harry, there was no way of knowing if the wizard could accompany him when he returned to his world. Witnessing this friendship made him think that Harry would never want to leave his home world, even if he was able.

He hated not having more information about his situation. He could be on the road to gaining a friend that he would have to leave behind, never able to contact him again. He would have knowledge of friendship and see what benefits it held only to be thrust back into his world with no one. L blocked a thought that even Whammy would no longer be there for him and continued thinking. Even if there was a person as innately good as Harry, L would never be able to know them enough to trust them.

The detective scowled, done with his sulking. He had the beginnings of a plan, he just needed to account for the new variables and adjust accordingly.

* * *

Thank you all for reading. The reviews, follows, and favorites are beyond amazing.


	8. Chapter 8

Harry spent a few minutes in lighthearted conversation with his friends before they turned somber. He almost wanted to bolt when he felt the atmosphere shift, knowing what was to come.

"Harry," Hermione said in a quiet voice as she placed a gentle hand on his arm, "How are you doing, really? I think it's great that you can smile and joke with us. I'm just worried that you're bottling up your emotions."

"I'm okay. A part of me is grieving because we lost so many. It's just that we need to keep on living to honor their sacrifices. They would want us to live and appreciate everyone that we still have." Harry smiled sadly as he spoke and Hermione squeezed his arm in support.

"Would you tell us what happened? You just disappeared and then he said… he said that you were dead. We were so scared that we'd lost you too."

Her eyes glistened with tears as she spoke. Ron pulled her closer and left his arm draped over her shoulders.

"I can't explain everything," he cautioned before giving a condensed version of the events leading to Voldemort's final defeat. He left out the resurrection stone, the deception around the wand, and L. The stone, he thought, would be better off forgotten. It had too much potential to cause hurt even if well-meaning. The wand would be a temptation. He knew that his friends would try to understand why he did not want to use it, but he found himself reluctant to speak of the subject in general. And L, well, he would never forget the advice from second year. If hearing voices from the walls was bad, having one take up residence in your head was worse.

"Oh Harry. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I will be, Hermione. Right now though, I really need some sleep. I'm sure you both could use the sleep too. Actually, before we go, do you have the energy to do a spell for me, Hermione?"

She sat a little straighter and ran a scrutinizing look over her friend. "Are you hurt?"

Harry had already started clearing out his mokeskin pouch, setting the items in a clear space on the desk with near reverence. "No, I just wondered if you were up to perform that undetectable extension charm one more time?" He waved the empty pouch slightly in emphasis.

"I can't do that! Harry, that spell is highly regulated. When Scrimgeour showed up at the Burrow, I almost panicked, thinking he was going to arrest me. If the ministry hadn't fallen, I may have faced charges."

"He's just toppled the ministry again. If anyone were to complain, you just point them to Harry. There probably won't even be a fine for him." Ron laughed. "Hell, he could probably use one of the unforgivables in front of witnesses and walk away squeaky clean."

Harry restrained himself from reacting to that statement and forced a smile. Ron was probably thinking of the imperious curse, used in Dumbledore's "For the Greater Good" fashion to get into Gringotts. Harry couldn't help but think instead of Carrow's howls of pain as the Death Eater suffered at the end of his cruciatus curse. He felt no regret for the unforgivable, only he decidedly did not want his use of it known.

Hermione predictably caved to the request and set to perform the expansion. She called a book from her own bag, flipping through to a memorized spot to check the incantation. All the while, she grumbled good-naturedly that she was likely to mess the spell up as she was quite out of practice for non-defensive wand work.

Her friends just smiled indulgently and let her rant. It brought back memories of Hermione frantically over-analyzing her tests. Now a fond remembrance rather than the annoyance it had been originally.

She finished her read through of the spell and took the bag to a dusty student desk. Harry and Ron followed, standing where they had a clear view of the work space. Hermione centered herself to begin casting. She first drew a circle into the dirt coating the area around the pouch with a finger, then took a deep breath and began to chant. Harry watched, his eyes glued to the wand as it traced swirling circles hypnotically in time with Hermione's clear Latin dictation. The spell finished with a final circle, the only one to the side of the pouch rather than above. Hermione explained that it needed to be as close to a perfect circle as possible hence the dirt track to keep her in line. The entire spell would have backfired if the circle had not connected.

"This actually turned out better than mine. I had only marked where I would start the circle so it probably wasn't perfectly round. I almost want to try it again, I figured out a more economic wrist movement towards the end of the casting that might make the initial circles more uniform."

Harry looked up from his inspection and careful reorganization at that comment. He gave Ron a pointed look, now would probably be the last time that Hermione would consent to cast this particular spell. His friend quirked an eyebrow and gave a subtle nod of understanding.

"Well Hermione, I could always use the storage. You would be able to test your new method." She beamed at Ron's comment causing his ears to turn pink. Harry mused that they had corrupted her. One good turn deserves another and all that. "Only problem is I don't have a bag."

Ah, couldn't have that. If Hermione broke her stride now, chances were that she would never perform the charm again. Yes, she looked ready to drop the matter.

"Don't we have an empty Gringotts bag," Harry asked. "You could practice the charm on that and Ron could transfigure it however he wants after."

"Of course," Hermione said as she began to dig through her purse. Harry clapped Ron on the back and winked as he moved to the witch's shoulder. He pointed his wand into the bag and used an accio to call out their target. "You shouldn't use magic for every little thing," she scolded. The only response she got was a charming smile so she rolled her eyes and set the spell. They could see that this time did have a more fluid grace.

When the spell was done, Hermione pronounced it near perfect. Harry and Ron saw no difference between their finished products, but agreed nonetheless that the results were spectacular. With their borderline criminal activities done, they put in a final appearance to the Great Hall. Harry said a few words for the fallen and pulled Kingsley aside to tell him about Snape's true loyalties.

He almost decided to stay for the initial clean-up after seeing others begin in earnest during his short eulogy. He only happened to notice McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley heading in his direction. The set of their faces told him that he would soon be tucked away somewhere, forced to rest. He quickly decided and asked Molly if he could go to the Burrow to catch up on some much needed sleep.

* * *

L kept to himself while Harry spent time with his friends. He decided not to offer any comments to keep from breeding a greater resentment to his presence. He closed the microphone and began to study Harry's magical coursework while paying only half a mind to the outside conversation. He added a filter to keep from stumbling across anything that the wizard considered private. L already had the important bits so he could settle for access to only the memories that Harry would share with his friends. Not the kind of compromise that the young man himself would have approved of. L felt no twinges of conscience for the exploited loophole. That disgusting, ratty hat probably would have placed him in Slytherin before he ever made it to the stool. Which would be fine with him, the thought of that thing on his head filled him with disgust.

He opted not to copy much information directly over. This was mostly because of the incomplete mess he found Harry had lying about. Sorting children based on character traits seemed to make them restrict themselves to those of their house. L wished that Harry had defied this custom as Hermione did. Before smothering any ambition he may have had, Harry had actually learned as much as he could. He had steadily kept ahead of his class, even as he kept track of what Dudley was likely to know. The detective was mildly impressed by the clever way Harry held his place just below his cousin in classes while keeping his answers separate to divert claims of cheating.

Though much less often, there were a few times that he glimpsed potential after magic too. Harry was the first to connect Hagrid's sudden dragon acquisition to the person attempting to steal the stone in his first year. He had also tricked Ron and Hermione with the Felix Felicis. Mostly though, he allowed others to do his thinking for him.

As he wanted to learn as much as possible about magic, his best bet would be to get Harry re-interested in learning. Maybe compare his Hogwarts study habits to Dudley's? Even now Harry was taking advantage of Hermione's pedantry. Harry, with that bit of help from Ron, had known how to use her want of practical application to override her need to follow rules. Though he did approve of the expanded bag. There would likely be many restrictions to come with a reforming ministry so it was best done now.

He went back to sorting through the magical knowledge, taking note of deficiencies that needed to be rounded out, and storing away the few bits he found immediately useful. He sensed Harry's hesitance to leave as he saw others working while making a short and spur-of-the-moment speech. He almost said something against the idea that he was sure was being thought. It looked like Hermione was already on the same track though. She was speaking into Ron's ear between glances at Harry or into the crowd. Harry took no notice of this or the miserable look Ron sent her before he looked at his friend and gave an acquiescing nod. L kept track of the red-headed wizard while he could. It was a bit difficult as he had no control of the vision range, but he saw Ron approach McGonagall before moving towards his family. After the exchange, the professor kept a careful eye on Harry.

They noticed the Weasley matriarch at the same time, just after Harry finished with Kingsley. Both women were now moving their way with purpose. L allowed himself a smile as he noticed a picture of a bed with straps in the Hospital wing. He had left the monitors running after adding the same 'public only' filter; Harry must be thinking they were going to confine him in the infirmary. Straps were a bit over-dramatic. If they were only a metaphorical thought though it might prove accurate. That was another thing to add to the 'to do' list, a trip to a doctor, or healer as the magicals called them. The wizard would probably deny any need for treatment, but a check-up at least would be prudent.

* * *

The trio of friends left the hall after Harry cleared his stay at the Burrow. They apparated together as soon as they passed through what was left of the Hogwarts wards. They all went into Ron's room and the boys relocated the ghoul while Hermione set up a sleeping bag between the beds. After everything that had happened, there was no discussion needed as to the arrangements. To them, it was a given that they would stay in the same room. It was a needed security, especially with the battle that had only just finished.

They settled in to the sounds made by the arrival of the rest of the Weasley family. Ron's whisper was barely audible over the din.

"What are we going to do without him?"

Hermione sucked in a choked gasp. Harry, however, steeled himself and met blue eyes that shone slightly with unshed tears. "You're going to keep moving forward. You'll think about him every time you laugh. You're going to do your best to do that often too. Because that's what he wanted. So when you laugh, he'll be there laughing with you." He received a watery smile. "Or at you," he couldn't help adding.

"Yeah, reckon you're right. He'd probably thump me for snivelling like a girl." Ron dodged a swat for his comment. He offered his hand a moment later and, after receiving a light smack to its back, twined his fingers with Hermione's. Everyone present knew that it would not be so easy what was said, but it was something to remember and work towards. A small comfort.

L wondered if he could help set up the foundations of a mind palace for Harry, but waited to state his idea until the conversation died out. The wait left him with an almost unconscious wizard that was more agreeable for his half-asleep state.

"I'm going to start send your memories through a defragment while you sleep and may have some progress in the help I offered by the time you wake." He said and readied himself to launch into details.

"Don't go pokin' through my memories," a quiet thought scolded.

"This will process itself, I have no need to see the memories. I shall only be monitoring it as a percentage to verify that its pace stays steady."

"Mmmm. Okay. Good night," Harry mumbled aloud. He received torpid acknowledgement from his friends and they all drifted fully into sleep.

L set the program to sort in a way that was chiefly influenced by Harry's own priorities where needed. Mostly it would further condense and organize what he had started. It would also make connections between events more clear. A bit like Dumbledore's pensive without the revolving hologram-type images. When he was sure it was functioning correctly, he moved on to set up a safe room for Harry.

It was set through the door that lead to the wizard's mind. It started as a small, empty room much like L's, but after a moment he decided that Harry would want it to feel more comfortable. The surroundings morphed to a small section of the Gryffindor common room. The plush chairs in their vibrant colors and the cheery fire did make for a nice effect. Next came a shelved corner table that extended for a bit down each wall. It was filled with large pictures of family and friends in almost the same layout of L's monitors.

The detective was unsure of how legilimency actually worked so he put in the many protections he had thought up for his own mind. It was actually a bit exciting for the man as he never had cause to worry about a mental attack so he had never implemented them himself. He had his password protection only out of habit. So the innocuous photos were actually freestanding monitors and the curve of the table housed a hidden keyboard and mouse accessible only with a short combination using the knob of a small drawer.

Harry would have to briefly review his memories to ensure they had sorted correctly and then secure them away where only the monitors had access. That way, if someone were able to reach the room and destroy everything, the source material would stay safe.

The only door in the room led to L's own room and the window had been replaced with an intercom. Other than their unusual situation of sharing head space, there was no need for a door at all. Once he knew where the room was, he would only have to think himself to it. A door would just call for intruders.

He hoped Harry would appreciate the set-up rather than be annoyed that L had done so much with such dubious consent. There was also the fact that Harry would be sleeping until his memories finished compressing. It would probably worry everyone when he slept over twelve hours, but maybe it would be written off as battle fatigue. At least there was no chance of nightmares and the wizard would require no sleep to assimilate new memories after he set up his auto-sort. His body would still require rest sometimes though magic might further lessen the amount.

Well, being early afternoon, only the morning would tell.

L made a few changes to his own room. The wall opposite his own mind observatory changed to a deep blue with silver sconces and an elegant white fireplace. The organization, or possibly unconscious state of their origin, had dulled the sound of thoughts flowing outside. The sound of the fire helped to replace the sound that L had come to find comforting over the past several hours. He listened to it crackling for a minute. It needed something. He added a moving painting of a serene forest clearing with a steady wind sounding that swayed the trees and a burbling spring that would draw quiet animals intermittently. The final touch was a dark, stately couch, where the light hit the fabric just right it shone blue. Its white trim and silver stitches pulled the ensemble together.

Satisfied, he turned to his stark set up and settled in for a long night in front of a screen with a heavy tome to refresh his Latin.

* * *

Yay another chapter done. I hope that my writing is getting a little better. I actually decided to try writing a little more casually instead of following rules that I remember, but can't actually remember the context of learning them. Let me know if you notice something that doesn't sound right or if I violate some unforgivable rule of writing. Or you could just let me know you stopped by. I love hearing that you're not regretting following/favorite-ing. Requests/suggestions will be considered and may potentially make the story (my outline was very basic and apparently L and Harry hate it). Thanks for reading.


	9. Chapter 9

Harry rose slowly to consciousness feeling like he was buried in mud. Unfortunately, being Dudley's favorite target had him reasonably familiar with the feeling. He heard a gasp when he tried to pull his hand to his head and then the sound of quick steps as the person fumbled their way out of a door.

He felt too groggy to be surprised when L began to speak or when the person that all but ran from the room broke the settling quiet outside his head. As Ginny called for Molly, Harry tried to shake off the remaining fog to listen to his passenger.

"They worried when you wouldn't wake. Your school healer has already been here and you are to be sent to her for a thorough check as soon as you are up."

Harry wanted to whine at his apparently unsuccessful evasion of Madame Pomfrey's scrutiny. "How long was I out," he thought morosely. The sound of many pairs of feet coming up the stairs and Molly telling everyone not to crowd in did not distract him from getting his answer. He wasn't sure how, but he had a feeling that L knew.

"You slept for 19 hours and 24 minutes." L's statement caused Harry's eyes to widen.

Mrs. Weasley bustled into the room at that moment carrying a tray near overflowing with food. Harry turned his shocked look to her and immediately blurted out a defensive "I'm fine."

"Harry, dear, you just slept for almost twenty hours straight. You were completely unresponsive." She carefully arranged the tray over his lap with tears brimming in her eyes. "If Poppy hadn't told us you were only in a deep healing sleep of some kind, I don't know what we would have done. Even with her reassurance, we were about half an hour from taking you to St. Mungo's."

Harry apologised for worrying everyone and began to eat at Mrs. Weasley's urging. George, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were allowed into the room after they were admonished to keep from over-exciting Harry. Ron watched George for a moment after his mother left as if waiting for something. He appeared to give up and turned to his friend. "I know I'm devilishly good looking mate, you'll just have to tell me if you get 'over-excited' by my presence so I can step out of the room. Don't know how you've held back all these years."

Ron had been hoping that George would take the set up first. That he had taken it himself and the direction of the joke had the others of the room looking askance at him. Harry, remembering the sleepy conversation from the day before, had to hold back chuckles. He tried to hold a serious face and speak in a deadpan, "It was exceptionally easy, I assure you. You're just not my type. If I tally you up with all of my rigorous standards, you are netting around a negative seven."

Ron clutched at his chest and dropped his head onto Hermione's shoulder. "Negative. I'm wounded. Hermione, you think better of me, right?"

She smiled and joined in the joke. "Of course, Ron," she said as she patted his head. "You're a solid three." Even George smiled faintly as the others laughed at his brother so Harry counted the banter as a success.

Everyone was surprised at the door opening and Poppy Pomfrey bustling in. Harry uttered a small 'eep' and tried to sink away into the bed covers. The healer's gaze immediately fell on him. She looked sympathetic, but Harry knew better than to believe that he would be let off easy.

"You should have come to see me right away, Mr. Potter," she scolded lightly.

"I'm fine," he started only to receive a disapproving look. "I really am fine. There were a lot of other people that needed your attention. I would never interrupt that for what would only be a health check."

She sent the others from the room and cast privacy charms before she started waving her wand over the wizard. "Potter, you needed at least a quick check before you left. Knowing you as I do, you probably had injuries that you didn't realize happened in all the action."

"You would have just locked me away for observing," Harry pouted. "And you can check me over for injuries now. There's really nothing, all I felt when I woke was a bit groggy."

"I would have sent you to a bed where I could keep you under a monitoring charm. You obviously needed the rest." She finished the thorough scan and spent a moment assessing the results. "Evidence of magical healing of various lacerations and contusions received within the past week. Insufficient nutrition intermittently over the course of the past year. Lingering dark magic residue."

"So practically all healed up." It wasn't really worth the effort, Harry knew how Madame Pomfrey was when she got her hands on a patient. That he was so frequently under her care only made her that much more tenacious. "I'll just take it easy and eat as much as I can," he emphasized the point with a large bite of his cooling food.

"Nice try, Potter. I'll be stopping by regularly to check in on you. Your magic has taken care of most of your injuries, but now that you're awake it will not continue at the same rate. I can't do anything right now, it would only counteract your magic and slow the healing. When it settles I will see what still needs to be done."

"So I'll see you next week."

"Tomorrow."

Harry sighed. "Fine. I can go to Hogwarts for the checks. I hate to inconvenience you and I'll probably be there anyway helping where I can."

"You'll stay here. They've already got the repairs well under way. You've done more than enough, more than should have ever been asked of you. I won't confine you to bed rest, but you keep from any strenuous work. Yes, that includes spell work and flying. Focus on getting back to 100% and leave the rest to the workers paid to take care of things." Her stern command told Harry that there would be no arguing.

"I could just floo over for them then. I actually thought I was supposed to meet you at Hogwarts today." He realized after he added the last part that L had been the one to say that. It was possible that he had misunderstood something. The man may be some kind of super detective, but Harry wasn't sure of how he got that information in the first place.

The slip didn't cause any problems, Poppy just explained that she had finished transferring patients from Hogwarts to St. Mungo's. She was volunteering her time there as the school had closed for the summer. Harry agreed that appearing at the hospital would only cause wild rumors and have him mobbed so he consented to the home visits. The forced downtime would also help him push back the tasks of going to Gringotts and checking over Grimmauld Place. He was decidedly not looking forward to either.

The pair said their goodbyes for the day as Poppy removed her charms from the room, then Harry was left alone with his thoughts and their current resident.

"Okay, L," Harry went to thought speech as he moved his tray away and made himself comfortable on the bed. "Can you tell me why my brain, or thought process, or whatever is feeling weird. I can't tell what changed, but something is different. I'm sure Madame Pomfrey is warning everyone away so we should have a little while before anyone comes back in."

L disagreed, forcing Harry to wait for a little while before starting their conversation. Sure enough, Molly came back in only a couple minutes later to fuss over the wizard. Harry assured her that he had eaten enough and got some time alone when he stated that he was going to rest. He first received a skeptical look so he rushed to reassure, "I don't think I'll be going back to sleep. I feel like I've slept a lifetime. I'm just going to relax and try to get my head back together. I feel a little addled." What he was feeling was actually a bit opposite of that. His thoughts seemed to come together easily, the feeling of 'difference' there was what was disconcerting.

"Of course, dear, you take all the time you need. I'll just put a light monitor on you. If your heart rate changes past a certain point or you're noticeably restless, it'll alert me. Otherwise, I'll just check in on you every hour or so."

Harry nodded his agreement and turned his concentration to L. He was a bit stunned when he was told that his mind had been reorganized and had been changed to cause his thoughts to code themselves and file subconsciously. The term 'defragment' had tripped him up along with most of the technology mentioned. L realized how removed from technology the magical world was when he had to explain anything past the most basic computer details. He tried not to sound impatient as he shifted his focus to bringing Harry to the room he had started. Hopefully the wizard would catch on easier with a visual.

L gave simple instructions to help clear the mind and sink into a meditative state. Harry spared a small thought that Snape should have been able to say at least part of that much before he pushed away his mind clutter and relaxed. He heard more instructions as if from a large distance, but they were clear enough that he followed them with little effort.

Harry opened his eyes slowly to find himself in a room that was as familiar as it was unfamiliar. It had his favorite spot from the Gryffindor common room, but the space felt much more sheltered with a lower ceiling and enclosing walls visible from his spot on the couch. As he stood and began inspecting the rest of the room, he marveled at how at ease he was. He noticed a Weasley quilt appear over the back of the couch. Then, a set of vague pictures carefully arranged on an expansive corner desk sharpened and began moving. He couldn't help but think of the room of requirement and randomly wondered if the room of hidden things was the only affected configuration.

He moved toward the out-of-place door instead of examining the pictures as he wanted. The door didn't budge when he tried the handle. After a small hesitation, he pressed the button thinking of how unusual it was to have a doorbell on the inside of a room. A minute passed with no response. Harry tried not to be annoyed. It was possible that he was wrong about this door leading to where L had set himself up, but it was not very likely. He pressed the button again, with more force, while he grumbled about wasting effort to get him here then not answering. He sent a thought to L to meet him as he muttered. The door opened suddenly.

"So you made it. That was faster than expected. Next time you want my attention while you're here, speak more clearly through the intercom."

Harry quickly took in the poor posture, the baggy clothing, and lack of shoes or socks. "So it's an intercom," he looked back at it, "okay I see it now. Why not just speak the way we have been then?"

"Your thoughts won't project to me here. The room works as an enclosure to keep your thoughts contained. I do not know how it could be affected by magic. My theory is that the way I have set a filter to code information as you perceive it would make it inaccessible to someone using legilimency. May I come through?"

"Sure," he said. He went to the sofa and plopped down comfortably. L sat next to him. Harry gawked at the detective as the man took up a hunched perch on the sofa cushion. He shook his head and decided to ignore the weird behavior. "So this code you keep talking about, is it like with computers? Since I know nothing about them wouldn't it be like being surrounded by people speaking a different language?"

"Are you saying you think you would be unable to understand your own thoughts?" The question sounded a bit mocking so L tried to soften it a bit with a small smile. He must have succeeded somewhere because Harry didn't seem to take offense.

"Well, it does sound silly when put that way. So how does it actually work?"

L bit his nail. There were still a few things that needed to be done so he kept the answer simple. "I gave a very basic process to code and sort, but the format encourages your subconscious to adapt it. You could say that it's now in a language all your own so of course you understand."

"If it's my own language now, how can you still understand me?" Harry asked.

L rose from the sofa fluidly for someone that maintained a constant slouch. "I can understand you because you want me to. Now before you ask more questions we need to get some of these operations running. Fortunately, you left the room almost exactly as it was."

Harry rose and trailed after the other man. He took a leaning stance against the door frame that separated their spaces and quickly glanced about the room. The whole place screamed 'sterile,' even the posh seating area that only just kept the room from also being described as 'bare.' L was focused on a screen blocked from Harry's view, the monitors he could see were lit with pages of unmoving text.

"Okay Harry, you have the combination to reveal your computer access loading. As it will be a memory clip I need you to tell me if the transfer causes any discomfort."

Harry had to take apart the sentence to understand. He wondered where a computer was hidden, amusing himself with ideas of rotating walls and secret panels. It was a bit disappointing when he found that the desk housed everything, but with the photos as a distraction it really worked to hide it in plain sight. The whole thing seemed a bit over-the-top anyway.

He twisted the small knob in the correct pattern. The pictures froze, the center frame changing completely to display an access screen. He jumped when a voice sounded over his shoulder. He had forgotten that L was watching.

"Any pain?" The detective said without sounding worried.

"None," Harry replied immediately.

"You've kept body awareness?" L asked as he brushed past Harry to start typing. The pictures quickly started being replaced with whatever information he pulled up.

"What? I don't just feel what my body does here?"

L spared a glance over his shoulder before replying. "It's possible, but you must focus on receiving the information. Sometimes it is nice to dull the sensations and experiencing them may break the focus holding you here."

Harry started to concentrate on his physical body then hesitated. "Hey. You're not digging through my memories again, are you?"

"Nothing invasive, I assure you. I'm merely looking into the reason for your extended unconscious state. The process should have taken just over twelve hours, that you took nineteen suggests an error somewhere. I have also opened and adjusted aural feed. Most ambient noises will be filtered out and speech will broadcast from this speaker."

"How do you even know how to do all of this?" Harry asked with genuine curiosity.

"I have been working with computers for quite a while now-" L started.

"I mean with the memories and such. How did you think to do this," Harry gestured around them, "in the first place?"

L tried not to be annoyed at being interrupted. He had misinterpreted the question, but it had been so vaguely phrased that he couldn't be blamed for the error. "I read about a similar technique when I was young. Being above average intelligence, I already kept my mind relatively organized. This method was easily adjusted to my own needs and implemented. It lead to near eidetic memory and I've constantly improved it as I've grown."

"That's photographic memory, right?" Harry waited for acknowledgement and got an affirming hum. "Will it do that for me too?"

"Even if it does not, the ability to see your memories in an almost pensieve perspective and analyze them in a different way should be reason enough to continue using it." It also presented a way to interact in as close to face-to-face conditions as their situation allowed, but L doubted that that would be a selling point. He also would not be telling Harry that he was smoothing over some of the painful memories that had haunted the wizard's nightmares and sometimes waking thoughts as well. The memories were left intact, but the pain and guilt were cleared mostly away. In normal conditions, he would have left things to the natural grieving process. Harry proved an exception because of his tendency to blame himself for everything. He would still mourn the losses of the war and feel pain at their passing so there was no need to call attention to the small change.

He considered for a moment that the extra time Harry spent unconscious was because he carried so much guilt to be dampened. It had possibly lengthened the process a bit, but there was something else going on. He felt that whatever it was, he was almost there.

Harry checked the screens. When he was sure that L was not being 'invasive', he set to attempting to feel his body. He huffed out a laugh at his thought's wording and moved to the sofa after checking L's work once more.

As with his physical body, he found himself better able to concentrate from a more comfortable position. He soon felt something through his leg and focused on the feeling. The soft 'oh' of realization drew L's attention just in time to see the wizard's mental projection vanish.

Harry opened his eyes to the bright orange of Ron's room. A twitch of his foot sent a ripple of stabbing needles up his leg and he hissed in discomfort. "Bloody leg is asleep." He assessed the rest of his body, "No headache or pain elsewhere though."

"Good, now get back here. I found something."

"The tone of your voice is suggesting that I'm not going to like it."

L considered not elaborating, but decided to let Harry mentally prepare himself. "You have a block of memory here that doesn't belong to you."

He suspected immediately what L must be alluding to. He still quietly asked, "Oh, is it from you?"

"You know it's not." L stated calmly.

"Yeah. I know."

* * *

Here I am again. Sorry for the delay. I hope everyone had a good holiday.

I'm still shocked when I get a new follow/favorite/review. Thank you all so much.


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